EphBlog agrees! The EDI is PC nonsense that ought to be abolished. As a reminder:

Williams College is committed to creating and maintaining a curriculum, faculty, and student body that reflects and explores a diverse, globalized world and the multi-cultural character of the United States. Courses designated “(D)” in the College Bulletin are a part of the College’s Exploring Diversity Initiative (EDI); they represent our dedication to study groups, cultures, and societies as they interact with, and challenge, each other. Through such courses, students and faculty also consider the multiple approaches that engage these issues. Rather than simply focus on the study of specific peoples, cultures, or regions of the world, in the past or present, however, courses fulfilling the requirement actively promote a self-conscious and critical engagement with diversity. They urge students to consider the operations of difference in the world and provide them with the tools to do so. The ultimate aim of the requirement is to lay the groundwork for a life-long engagement with the diverse cultures, societies, and histories of the United States and the rest of the world.

Should we spend a week on EDI? In the meantime, back to the Record:

He [Herrera] said that EDI classes could be more successful if professors designed courses specifically to focus on diversity.

That is a strange comment. Does Herrera think he knows more about course design than the average Williams professor? I have my doubts! Consider some current classes with the “D” designation like AFR 343: Racial-Sexual Violence with Joy James or AFR 129: 20th Century Black Poets with David Smith. Does Herrera think that these courses are poorly designed, the readings too narrow, or the assignments ill-conceived? Perhaps. If so, he should give us some details!

Herrera suggested that the College increase the requirement from one credit to two and spread EDI classes more evenly across divisions.

Ahhh. Herrera is a Social Justice Warrior, Eph Division. He has no complaints against courses like AFR 343. He wants more such courses and he wants to force more students to take them. What a proper little Leninist!

Think that is too harsh? Perhaps. But what is the appropriate terminology for a student who wants to force other students to take courses they don’t want to take? As Morty Schapiro described it, Williams students have 32 Golden Tickets, just 32 chances — and only 24 if the spend junior year abroad — to study fascinating topics with amazing professors. Every time you force them to take a class that they would not otherwise take — whether because of requirements for EDI, divisional distribution, writing or quantitative reasoning — you steal from them.

One might argue that, for the faculty, this is an obligation. Part of their job is to make students do things — like take 4 courses a semester and major in something — that not all students would willingly do. But for a student like Herrera to argue that his peers are too stupid (or racist?) to willingly select the courses that (he thinks!) they ought to is to display the sort of arrogance that can give (some!) Williams students a bad reputation.

To be fair, though, the link lists courses alphabetically (so AFR naturally rises to the top). That doesn’t let DDF off the hook — I suggest he take five days to look through the entire list of EDI courses and share his expert commentary.

What is the complaint here? Do you feel that I have misinterpreted Herrera? He thinks that every single one of the current EDI classes meet the goals of EDI but that the (current) goals of EDI are bad and/or need to focus more on diversity?

Perhaps the Record did a poor job of explaining Herrera’s point. What do you think his point was? Perhaps I will even agree with it!

This is going to come across as snarky, but I don’t mean it that way. How can EDI classes be “spread more evenly across divisions.” How does a math class, or a chemistry class, or a physics class, fit within the EDI paradigm?

Also, from the Record article:

Dean of the College Marlene Sandstrom said the College is continuing efforts to support undocumented students. All undocumented students are eligible for financial aid, and the College meets 100 percent of their need

Are there many undocumented students on campus? Are they counted as “International Students.” If not, I would be curious to know how their inclusion would affect the percentage of international students at Williams.

Herrera’s point, as I understand it, not having any clue, was that some EDI classes are not designed to be EDI courses, but once they realize they could qualify, achieve the designation. And this undermines the point, which is EDI classes truly focused on exploring diversity.

I don’t think he thinks he understands course design better than faculty. If a student can’t find a single EDI course that is compelling to them, they are not achieving the goals of Williams.

What, in one brief paragraph, would you, DDF, define as the goals of Williams?

To say this kid you have never met (presumably) displays arrogance so extreme it gives Williams students a bad name makes you a jerk.

displays arrogance so extreme it gives Williams students a bad name makes you a jerk.

I feel very strongly that it is arrogant for Williams Student A to argue that he knows better than Williams Student B what classes Student B should take. Don’t you find that arrogant? If not, what adjective would you use?

I find it extremely arrogant for Williams Student A to argue that the College should force Student B to take the classes that Student A thinks B should take.

I believe that there are a de minimus number of undocumented students on campus, certainly fewer than 5 and possibly zero. (If there were any/many, then the College would brag about it, just as it brags about students who are veterans.)

Are they counted as “International Students?”

I believe that they are, and that they are listed under their country of legal citizenship, which would be Mexico in most (?) cases. Page 581 of the course catalog shows that, currently, there are no Mexican nationals at Williams.

What, in one brief paragraph, would you, DDF, define as the goals of Williams?

You can argue that a student is arrogant all you want. To say a student you have never met is so arrogant as to give Williams students a bad name is a tough sell based on one part of an article.

But….because I have no self-restraint, I will respond. You are contending Student A is prescribing a class for Student B. It doesn’t seem extremely arrogant to me for a college student to say “All students should take at least one course related to diversity”. Student A isn’t saying what class you have to take. They are simply expressing their opinion that they are glad we all have to take at least one class related to diversity.

And regardless, college students are not at peak intellectual maturity, as much as we all would have loved to believe when we were in college. And Williams is somewhat of an echo chamber.

I repeat: to label a student you have never met (presumably) as displaying arrogance so extreme it gives Williams students a bad name makes you a jerk.

Maybe I am wrong, and you have reached out and tried to discuss your points with him, but likely you read an article, then decided to post mean things about a college student on your blog. This is legal and whatever, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t a jerk.

What, in one brief paragraph, would you, DDF, define as the goals of Williams?

The goal of Williams is to be the best undergraduate college in the world. The most important step in achieving that goal is to bring the most academically talented and ambitious English-fluent high school students in the world to Williamstown. The second most important step is to maximize the amount of time that such students spend intellectually engaged, ideally in tutorials, with the Williams faculty.

but likely you read an article, then decided to post mean things about a college student on your blog.

Correct. Although I would phrase this: I read the (accurately reported, one hopes) views of a 21 year old man, a fellow Eph. I found those views arrogant and have taken the trouble to explain why. I have treated this student the same way that I would treat a 40-year old Williams professor because, when I was a Williams student, I wanted people to take my views seriously. I did not want to be coddled. I doubt that Herrera wants to coddled.

You seem — and correct me if I am wrong! — to want to make a distinction between how I (not wanting to be a “jerk”) should treat Herrera versus how I might treat Buell. Do you believe that because Herrera is a “college student” I should be less mean to him than I would be towards a professor who holds the same views that he does?

DDF –
No, I believe you should be less mean, broadly. To students, and teachers. There is a distinction between holding people intellectually accountable, which I think you should do to students and faculty, and being mean.

Do I think you should publicly ridicule people? No. Am I more amenable to you publicly ridiculing faculty than students? Yes. Does this mean you are coddling students? No, you can be just as intellectually rigorous without publicly ridiculing. And regardless of how you (or I) felt when you were 20, you weren’t as smart then.

And I think your definition is not actually a definition. “Our goal is to be the best!” Well then you have to define best. You haven’t actually defined your goals at all. Are your steps to achieve “being the best” actually your definition of “the best”?

should we spend a week on all the flaws in David’s writing in this post?

(also re: comment #2. Sadly, that’s not true. The link explicitly has subj=AFR in it. If he had wanted to actually be intellectually honest, it would replace subj=AFR with the link to all the EDI courses which took me roughly 30 seconds to find from his link. 20 of which were spent remembering how to post links and confirming the link would work.)

“And I think your definition is not actually a definition. “Our goal is to be the best!” Well then you have to define best. You haven’t actually defined your goals at all. Are your steps to achieve “being the best” actually your definition of “the best”?”